


Always With You

by DaphneTheAdipose



Series: My Torchwood Bingo Fest 2020 [2]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Ianto Jones, Torchwood Bingo Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26615230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaphneTheAdipose/pseuds/DaphneTheAdipose
Summary: Psychism isn't that easy to deal with. And it's not as almighty as many think it is.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Series: My Torchwood Bingo Fest 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936117
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: Bingo Fest 2020





	Always With You

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Torchwood Bingo Fest 2020. Fill on 'psychic powers/telepathy'.
> 
> Beta-ed by the amazing [Jackdaw816](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackdaw816/pseuds/Jackdaw816). Thank you very very much!

Jack returned to the Hub from a Weevil hunt. He was tired, the day had been pretty eventful, having to sort out an emergency landing of a ship full of Zorlyxians. Zorlyxians being a mostly telepathic race, communication took some work, seeing as no human could receive their brain waves. Only Ianto was receptive enough, but telepathy wasn’t really his area. Ianto was more for empathy and psychometry, the latter having helped enormously in sorting out the Archives. When the Zorlyxian’s distress signal latched onto him, he’d collapsed from the initial contact.

The sight of Ianto crumpling to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut would play the starring role in many nightmares to come. When he came to a long ten minutes later, it wasn’t a moment too soon. Ianto explained about the Zorlyxians and kept up communications with them the whole time. Jack kept a worried eye on him through it all and did not miss the strain the telepathy took from him.

After the Zorlyxians departed, Ianto was almost swaying on his feet, not even protesting when Owen dragged him into the medical bay. Jack wanted to sit with him, but then Tosh reported the Weevil sightings and he had to set off with Gwen. He left Ianto with Owen, with strict instructions that Owen take Ianto home as soon as the examination was finished.  
After he and the women dealt with the Weevil and their containment, he let them go home and started settling in for a night alone in the Hub. Ianto would now be settling in himself at home and however much he wanted to be with him, it was really for the best.

Jack’s hopes that the Welshman had gone home to rest, were dashed as he saw him sit on the catwalk overlooking the Hub. Disappointing but not surprising. Jack proceeded to check the Hub for the others and then satisfied that they’d all gone home, went up to Ianto.

Maybe Ianto stayed up for Jack, not wanting him to stay alone. Or maybe Ianto himself wanted some company. But those thoughts all left his head when he saw how empty Ianto’s gaze was. His heart skipped a beat. Ianto looked as if he wasn’t there, his body just an empty shell. It was one of Ianto’s fears in the beginning, that with all the impressions he could feel from people and objects, he would start to lose himself. Jack had done his very best to assuage his fears and suggested ways Ianto could ground himself. As far as Jack knew, none of his suggestions worked, but Ianto had assured him that he did find a method that did. Now that all looked for naught.

“Hey,” Jack said softly, trying not to startle him. Ianto just slowly turned his head to Jack, eyes still distant as if they were looking beyond Jack and he knew for a fact that they probably were. Ianto once tried to explain what exactly it was he saw, but without much success. Like explaining a colour only he could see. Jack approached him carefully and took Ianto’s face in his hands, pressing a kiss to his forehead. When he moved back to see Ianto’s face again, his eyes seemed much clearer and focused.

“You okay, Yan?”

“Yeah,” Ianto answered in a detached voice before seemingly coming back more to himself and continuing in a much clearer voice. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Jack sagged, relieved beyond measure that Ianto was fine.

“What are you still doing here? I thought I told Owen to take you home.” Did Owen really just leave Ianto? No, Owen wasn’t that callous with his patients.

“I asked him to leave me here.” He sighed when Jack gave him an incredulous look. “He wasn’t right happy, convinced I wanted to drive myself, but he let it go when I gave him my car keys. I just wanted to stay here and drift for a bit.”

“Drift?”

“It’s a way to… ground myself. Ironic because what I do is actually just letting go and let myself feel-” He paused, inhaling and exhaling. “Everything.”

Jack gave him a searching look, but Ianto didn’t look as if he was about to pass out from psychic overload. Still, inquiring more about it wouldn’t hurt.

“And it’s safe to do so?”

“Hmm, suppose so.” Ianto hummed. “Haven’t experienced any negative side-effects as of yet.”

“And you feel everything? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“A bit yes. I don’t really consciously process it. I just sort of stop thinking and let myself be in the moment. It’s a mindfulness technique, to be honest, but it works just as well in controlling psychic input.” Ianto seemed a bit sheepish as he confessed it.

“And you do this often in the Hub? Not that I mind.” He added hastily as he saw Ianto’s face smooth out into blankness. His worry disappeared as he saw that despite Ianto’s intentions to keep any expression from his face, a blush still crept up on his cheeks.

“Ianto?” He questioned, lilting at the name.

Ianto mumbled something and Jack shuffled closer.

“Sorry, didn’t hear that.”

Ianto sighed.

“I can feel you.”

Jack cocked his head.

“Yeah, I know that. That’s one of your psychic abilities.”

“No, I mean yes, but.” Ianto sighed again. “I can feel you. In the Hub. Even when you’re not here.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Really? Wonder how that happened.”

“People do leave imprints of themselves on objects. That’s the psychometry.”

“But you said you could feel me. Here in the Hub. That seems like more than an imprint.”

Ianto hummed. “Yeah, it is. I can’t explain it. It just feels like you’re here. It’s nice. I- When-” Ianto averted his face from Jack’s but Jack was still holding on to him and Ianto didn’t break free from his hold. Jack tried to gently encourage him, slowly rubbing his shoulders. He felt Ianto sigh as he decided to finish his thought. “I stayed here a lot when you were gone. I missed you. And being here I still felt like you were here. Like you’d return eventually.”

Jack gathered Ianto close in his arms and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Enjoyed how they feel so close together.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay. With you.”

Ianto melted into him. “I know.”

They stayed together like that for a few minutes. Jack was the one to break their comfortable silence.

“C’mon, I’ll bring you home in the SUV. After a hard day like this, you deserve to sleep in your own bed. Think you can handle being away from my psychic presence?” He grinned.

Ianto huffed. “It’s not exactly like you. It’s different. Probably because it’s just an imprint of you. Your actual presence is much better.” He blinked. “I did not intend to say that last part out loud.”

Jack laughed. “Someone is more tired than they thought.” He slung his arm around Ianto’s shoulders and pulled him to the cog door, intent on enjoying a quiet evening together.

Several levels below, a single soul was kept. He’d been on ice since 1901, preserved upon his request. But his consciousness still persisted, alive and unknowing. The timer ticked away, numbers steadily decreasing until the day he would finally be released from his glacial prison.


End file.
